The invention relates to sealable multicompartment containers and particularly to multicompartment food or drinks containers.
Various products, including some food and drink products, are sold in packaged form with more than one component held in sealed isolated compartments prior to use and which are required to be mixed at the time of use. In the food and drink industry such products include various dairy products such as flavoured drinks or yoghurts. In other industries multiple chemical components may be held in sealed separate compartments up till use such as for example adhesive products where mixing is required prior to use.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved multicompartment container which may be formed with more than one compartment which may store constituents in isolation when the container is sealed but which may be adapted by change of shape after opening in order to provide a single container in which the constituents are mixed.
The invention provides a sealable multicompartment container having a first inner compartment surrounded by a second outer compartment each compartment having perimeter walls with upper edges of the walls of each compartment terminating in a closure plane with sealing regions on the upper edges for engaging with a closure lid to provide sealing of the container and isolation of each of the compartments, an outer perimeter wall of the first compartment and an inner perimeter wall of the outer compartment being formed by a folded wall member which is pliable to permit unfolding by pulling the inner compartment relative to the outer compartment, when the lid is removed, in a direction away from said upper edges so as to extend the container depth and cause the outer and inner compartments to merge into a single compartment. Preferably the second compartment forms an annular trough around the first compartment.
Preferably the first and second compartments have perimeter walls which are circular and concentric with each other at their upper edges.
Preferably the upper edges of the perimeter walls are formed with flat regions of sufficient area and rigidity to permit bonding in abutment with a sealable lid.
Preferably the inner and outer compartments are of similar depth when the container is not extended.
Preferably the inner perimeter wall of the outer compartment is formed of flexible corrugated sheet material.
The container may conveniently comprise a food or drinks container in which the inner compartment comprises a tub for containing food or drink and the outer compartment provides a receptacle for other food or drink which is held separately in the container when the container is sealed but which mixes or merges with the food or drink in the inner compartment when the lid is removed and the container extended to merge the compartments.
The container may be formed of plastics material.
The invention includes a container as aforesaid in combination with a lid in sealed engagement with the upper edges of the perimeter walls to close the container and isolate said first and second compartments.
The lid may comprise aluminum foil or a plastics film releasably bonded to the upper edges of the perimeter walls. The above container is conveniently made as a single unitary structure with the lid comprising a separate element.